US: Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index plummets to -70 in March from 1.2 in February

• Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index drops to all-time low of -70 in March.
• US Dollar Index clings to gains above 99 after data.

The economic activity in Texas' manufacturing sector contracted at a strong pace in March with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey's headline General Business Activity Index plummeting to -70 from 1.2 in February. This record-low reading came in much worse than the market expectation of 6.2.

Further details of the publication revealed that the Company Outlook Index plunged to -65.6 from 3.6, the Production Index fell to -35.3 from 16.4 and the New Orders Index dropped to -41.3 from 8.4.

Market reaction

The US Dollar Indes largely ignored this data and was last up 0.8% on the day at 99.10. Additionally, Wall Street's main indexes were up between 1.35% and 2.61%.